


Bedtime Story

by FawkesFire13



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26939707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FawkesFire13/pseuds/FawkesFire13
Summary: Tora tells his daughter a bed time story.
Relationships: Tora/ Poppy
Comments: 22
Kudos: 114





	Bedtime Story

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that is fluffy for the sake of being fluffy. Sometimes you just have to write something that makes you feel good. 
> 
> Shout out to my ladies in the MPL Ramblings Chat. You ladies give me life.
> 
> Shout out to my Seedlings.
> 
> As always, all characters belong to Lilydusk!

Tora was awake, listening to Poppy’s quiet, rhythmic breathing. He could hear the crickets just outside the window. There was a soft breeze, and it teased the leaves of the tree in the neighbors yard. 

He could hear his own heartbeat. 

Tora thought he would have been exhausted, but he had never felt so awake. He looked over at the clock on the nightstand. 

Just a little bit after midnight now, and the minutes ticked by slowly. He knew he would not find his own rest for a while, but he didn’t want to wake Poppy. The past 48 hours had been....surreal. 

Eight months and 2 weeks ago Poppy had shown him the positive pregnancy test and he had been in a state of heightened anxiety mixed with intense joy since that moment. 

He stared at the ceiling. Everything was so different and yet the world seemed to be continuing as normal. Two days ago, just after Tora finished clearing the dishes from the table Poppy had stood and suddenly stopped. All of Tora’s senses flung into overdrive as Poppy made a small gasp and looked up, startled.

“I....I think my water broke.” She gasped.

Tora didn’t remember much from that exact moment but their well rehearsed plan came into action. Tora grabbed the overnight bag, called Quincey, Gyu, Erdene and Jacob. They in turn were responsible for notifying Alice, Cordy, Poppy’s grandma and cousins. Quincey would meet them at the hospital as soon as he could get there, and the others would follow shortly.

“Her water broke!” Tora had barked into the phone. Quincey gave a excited gasp and shrieked: 

“I’m on my way, Honey!” 

Tora had driven the route from their house to the hospital several times a week. He made it a route he could take using muscle memory alone. It was programmed into his mind, the fastest route, and side streets he could take if there was traffic. He vaguely recalled Poppy calling the doctor as he flung the overnight bag into the back seat of the car, and resisting the urge to pick her up and carry her to the passenger seat.

“Just breathe, Bobby!”

“Tora, I’m fine.”

“Don’t panic!” Tora insisted, helping her into the car. “I know the route.”

“I know, Tora.”

“Let me get your seatbelt.”

Poppy had touched his face gently and he looked up, watching her face break into a wide smile.

“Tora, the baby isn’t coming right this second. We just need to get to the hospital so I can get situated and checked in. It’s going to be a while.”

Tora nodded, still not convinced, but drove as if the well being of the entire world rested in his hands alone.

The next thing he knew he was at the hospital, and nurses zeroed in on his tiny wife quickly. 

Then they were in a room, Poppy in a gown now and being hooked up to monitors. Tora felt like everything happening was rushed and he didn’t understand all of what was being said, but the bubble of anxiety and nervousness that had been building in his chest was threatening to burst.

Labor was something he thought he understood. 

It wasn’t.

The first couple hours seemed....like things were moving so slowly. Poppy waddled up and down her room, furious that everything was taking so long. She crunched ice chips and sighed a lot, Tora trying his best not to question the nurses over and over again. Time dragged and then quite suddenly, it was go time.

He held her hand as Poppy strained, cried, swore and pushed for all she was worth. Her face was red, sweating and exhausted. Tora stood next to her bed, holding her hand, wrestling with his own helplessness of the situation. 

And suddenly, incredibly, he was a father. 

With a scream and a push Poppy delivered their daughter into the world and Tora felt his entire existence rooted to that singular moment. The doctor was holding his baby, and she was being cleaned off. Poppy was crying exhausted tears, and nurses were smiling.

“You’re gorgeous.” Tora murmured, kissing Poppy’s forehead. She smiled, still crying. Tora couldn’t even begin to imagine what she had just gone through, physically, let alone emotionally, but he was so proud of her....loved her so much. The baby’s cry made both he and Poppy turn towards her, smiling. She sounded healthy, and that was all he ever cared about. 

When the tiny bundle containing his daughter was placed in his arms, he felt the center of his universe shift just slightly to make room for her next to Poppy. She was so tiny. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around how this impossibly fragile being was part of him and part of Poppy, but as he gazed at her, she cracked open her eyes, a baby grimace on her face. 

Two golden eyes glared up at him.

Poppy grinned, watching Tora.

“Oh! She has your eyes!” She laughed, still tired. “I had hoped she would.” Tora didn’t answer, still surprised to some degree that he was actually holding his daughter. Somehow it still didn’t seem real. 

“Hmm. Not sure about her hair. It looks darker than mine. But not black as yours.” Poppy added, looking at her surprisingly full head of chocolate brown hair. 

Tora watched his daughter consider him just as much as he was watching her and suddenly giggle and waved her chubby little arms at him.

“Hi, Lily.” He smirked, offering her a finger to grasp onto. “I love you.”

That was 48 hours ago. 

Now they were back home and Tora was feeling woefully unprepared for this. They had stayed just a single day in the hospital, mainly to let Poppy recover under the supervision of the nurses there, and allow their friends and family to come congratulate her, and snap photos of Lily. 

The next afternoon they were bundled up and heading home. Tora drove like the entire car was made of glass. Even Poppy told him to relax a little bit. But how? How was he supposed to do this? How did someone.....be a dad?

There was a tiny little life down the hallway, sleeping in her nursery and she was completely dependent on him and Poppy to keep her safe. 

It wasn’t that he wasn’t thrilled to be a father. 

But he felt like he had missed some fundamental part of Baby Raising 101. The doctors just expected them to know what to do? Shouldn’t there be a pamphlet? Or like a manual for this?

Tora sat up slowly and glanced over at Poppy. She was so physically exhausted right now she was basically dead to the world. He didn’t blame her one single bit. She just finished pushing a whole human out of her body, she could sleep all she wanted. 

Instead he got out of bed and walked the short distance down the hall and into the nursery. The purple night light shaped like a teddy bear gave off a soft glow and he walked over to the crib. Lily was asleep, dreaming peacefully.

He sat down in the rocking chair and closed his eyes. 

Two days.

48 hours.

Everything was so different now.

Tora watched Lily kick just slightly and then settle again. He smiled. He had heard that babies didn’t always sleep through the night. Well, he rarely slept more than a few hours in a row before he woke up for one reason or another.

Tora felt himself waking up. 

He didn’t remember falling asleep.

Lily was just beginning to make small sounds, and Tora stood quickly, touching her back gently. 

“Shh. Lily. It’s okay.” He watched her kick again and whimper. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m here.”

A insistent chortle came next and Tora frowned. He figured he could easily do a once over check and make sure she was good to go. Gingerly, he picked her up, and was surprised when the fussing stopped.

“Hey, were you faking me out?” He asked jokingly. He felt the diaper, then checked with a quick sniff. Nope. Diaper was clean. She probably wasn’t hungry if Poppy’s feeding schedule was right. And he was sure it was. She had feeding times marked carefully on a whiteboard in the kitchen.

Tora cradled Lily carefully to his chest and rubbed her back gently.

“You can’t sleep, sweetie?” He asked her softly. “I hope you’re not like me. Your mommy would hate it if she was stuck with two night owls....”

Lily whimpered once, her tiny hands making little grasping motions. She got one hand around some of his hair and gave a little tug. Tora smiled, and walked around the small nursery, still gently rubbing Lily’s back.

“It’s okay if you are.” He added. “A night owl. All the stars come out when it’s dark.”

Lily wiggled and seemed to calm down. Her hand loosened and dropped his hair. He waited a few moments, and felt her stir again. “You just wanna stay awake, is that it?”

Tora paced as softly as he could, not wanting to alert Poppy, and hoping Lily would sleep. She was a cheerful little baby so far, maybe she would be a good sleeper. He glanced down, and saw Lily moving her head just enough to try and figure out where the source of his voice was coming from. “Hey now, you’re supposed to be trying to sleep. You got all this growing to do. You’re so small right now. Maybe one day you’ll be bigger than your mom. Not that it’ll be that hard to do.” Tora chuckled and to his surprise, Lily gave a small whimpering giggle.

“You laughing at your mom already?” He asked her seriously. Lily gave a little squeal. Tora grinned. “You and I are gonna make a great team. Wait until you get to meet your uncle Quincess. He’s gonna be so fun to tease. I’ll teach you everything I know about that....”

He rocked her gently, switching his hold on her so she was cradled in his arms, looking up. Tora smiled at her, her golden eyes watching him curiously.

“Can I tell you a secret? Don’t tell your mom, but.....I am scared. I didn’t think I’d ever be a dad, and now you’re here. I never thought I’d make it to 30, let alone be married and have you here. Kinda a lot, ya know?” Tora smirked, as Lily reached up, and he offered her his pinkie finger. She grabbed on, and Tora rocked with a gentle motion, shifting his weight from right to left. 

“I didn’t have much of a childhood, ya know? Didn’t have real parents. I’m not sure what I’m doing. Your mom seems like she’s got it all figured out. Had this room decorated and repainted the first month we knew you were coming. How to feed you and change your diapers. How do fill those things up so much? You’re too small to be doing that.” He joked. Lily blinked once, and giggled.

“Never thought I’d be so afraid. I’ve done some....you know what? We aren’t going to go into that. Let’s just say your daddy was a troublemaker and I never thought I’d make something like you.” Tora paused and bent down to kiss her forehead. “You’re still like a dream, it’s hard to believe I helped make you. You’re just like you’re mom. More perfect than I deserve. Still not sure how I got so lucky there. Sorry about the eyes. People....might judge you for them. You’re still really little, so it’ll be a few years. But you might get people staring.”

Tora paused, considering. “But just know that the right people will love you, no matter what you look like. Took me a long time....to figure that out. You’ve got so many people who love you, right now. And you’re brand new. So many people can’t wait to hold you, and love you. I think your uncle Quincey might buy the entire toy store down the street for you. I know he said something about a pony when you’re old enough....”

He paused, and thought back a little bit. This nursery was really a special place now, at least to him. All their friends had helped create it. Gyu had helped him build the crib. Erdene had been the one to help Poppy match colors and order things online when she kept getting frustrated and feeling bloated. Alice had sent dinners over to them as they had finished the long days of painting and building. Quincey, in a fit of joy at the mere thought of being a uncle had bought.....far too much, of Tora was honest. The second Quincey had learned they were expecting a little girl, dozens of outfits had filled her closet. Tora had blinked at some of the brand names, convinced Quincey had finally lost his mind. 

“I can’t wait for you to meet some of your uncles and aunts. You know you’re feet are never going to touch the ground? They’re going to never want to put you down....”

Tora’s voice trailed off and he simply rocked Lily in silence for a while, enjoying the serenity in the nursery. 

“You’re one of the best things to ever happen to me, Lily. I hope you know that. I might not know what I’m doing yet....but I do love you. So...go easy on me, okay? I might screw up a few times, but I’ll always try my best for you, okay? I’ll always have your back. We’re a team....you and me. A family. And we got to stick together.” 

Lily blinked at him solemnly, a curious expression on her face. Tora smirked. 

“Ya going to be a handful, aren’t ya? If you’ve even got a fraction of your mom in there, you’re gonna be a tough little tiger.” 

His daughter kicked a bit and giggled, seemingly just happy listening to him. Tora grinned, wiggling his finger still firmly in her grasp.

“Yeah, you’re such a strong little fighter. I can tell, you’ve got that same look your mom gets when she wants something.” Tora said quietly, walking to the rocking chair and sitting down. He rocked her there for a while, humming some nonsense tune. Lily all the while staring at him with his gold eyes.

“Ya know, I never thought I’d love someone as much as I love your mom, Lily. But I think you’re right up there with her.” Tora whispered. “I’m still.....not sure what I’m doing, but I know that I’m so lucky to be your dad. I’m so lucky I get to love you. I hope there’s never a moment in your life that you’ll doubt that. Your daddy is always going to love you so much.”

Lily gripped his pinkie and yawned. Tora smiled.

“Yeah, bit of a heavy talk when you’re supposed to be sleeping. Close your eyes and try to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up, okay? I got you, little love.”

Tora sighed, watching Lily struggle to keep her eyes open for a bit, stubbornly fighting her sleep for a couple minutes, before giving in and slipping away into her dreams, whatever they might be.

He closed his own eyes and used his legs to rock the chair slowly.

He was a father.

A dad.

“Love you, Lily.”


End file.
